Last week I proposed an article written by Julie and I to the Post Newspaper, pitching the idea that Journeys of the Spirit "offers travel experiences and retreats that create opportunities for you to embark on a personal journey that will last much longer than the trip itself." The pitch went well, and journalist Sarah McNeill has offered to place it in May's Travel Feature of the newspaper. Very exciting!
Also this week I have been putting together a personal DVD of photos that were taken on a Bhutan retreat in May last year. This DVD is being created for Tim, the new edition to the Journeys of the Spirit family! Julie offered Tim to be a guide for Bhutan's May trip this year, but due to lack of numbers the trip has had to be cancelled. It would have been his first trip, but Julie insisted on creating the same Bhutan trip for May in 2013. The DVD is being produced to take him back to his journey he experienced back in 2011 and boost his confidence a little for the making of his first trip. The thing I love most about this job is that it is not based purely around business - Julie takes into consideration the very personal side to the job, whether it be her employees or working with clients.
Julie is heading off the Kerala in India this Saturday to take 10 of her clients on the health and well being retreat. I am very excited to hear about her new experiences, but whilst she is away I'll be taking her calls and responding to emails. I'll basically be running the business! It will be a big challenge - I will have to know the ins and outs of every trip when Julie diverts her calls and emails to my phone on the second week of her trip. Julie and I have been going through itineraries, booking forms, terms and conditions for the Spain trip, as well as response email templates. There is a lot to take in, but I have to be ready for the challenge. With a "short cuts" segment of Spain going in the West Travel on the 24th of March, my phone will certainly be going off the hook. Well we hope it to be!
With all this happening I will be drawing up a Media package for Julie and I to focus on when she returns from her trip in April. This package will include all the brainstorming ideas for articles, photographs and media we wish to propose our ideas to. Our first goal is to get an editorial in "The Big Asia" Guide for the West Travel in April. Crossed Fingers! This will mean a lot for Journeys of the Spirit and we hope that editorial will expand the business. However for this to happen, we will need to keep closely in touch with Steven Scourfield - the West Australian Travel Editor. And he is one guy that is hard to reach!
Until next time, have a great rest of the week!
Chiara M
Below are some of the photos captured by Julie Baker on her May Bhutan trip in 2011. These pictures are in the DVD I am creating for Tim.
